The Portland daily press., 1887-07-02
PIT BROW WOMEN.
Description of the Dress Worn by a
class of English Working Women.

That Lass o. LOWrie's" is reality and
not figment of the fertile Imagination of
the clever Mrs. Hodson Burnett. attend
e1 recently the annual meeting of the Eng
lish National Association for Defence of
Personal Rights, which was held in hand
some hall situated in Essex street, London,
almost directly opposite that most magnif-
cent pile Of modern gothic buildings, the
new Law Courts, writes Olive Logan in the
New York Mail and Express. The audi
ence was large and attentive, and raptur-
ously applauded every point taken which
aimed at contesting all Parliamentary med
ding with individual liberty. The meeting
was presided over by Charles Hopwood,
Queen counsel and recorder of Liverpool,
who was supported by Miss Muller, Mr..
Charles McLaren, M. Leon Donnat, member
OF the Municipal Council of Paris, who
stated that he was actively associated with a
sister society in Paris for the defence of
personal rights, and other prominent people.
II appears that in 1886 il was proposed IN
Parliament, in the Goal Mines Regulation
Act Amendment bill, to abolish female Ia
borat the brow OF coal mines, at the repre-
sentati0n that the dress worn by these WO-
men when at work offended prOpriety, con-
sisting as 1t does, of trousers, skirt and jack
ct. A deputation of pit-brow women attend
ed the meeting, and three of them, in full
working outfit, were accommodated with
seats on the platform, where the audience
were enabled to judge for itself of the exact
character of the dress. 1t would be difficult
TO devise costume more modest. The hair
is completely hidden by black alpaca skull
cap, with a hanging bag at the back, into
which any loose locks may fall, and thus be
preserved from dust; a high-necked long
sleeved jacket of thick, dark-blue cloth Is
worn over petticoat of the same material,
which reaches ahout tn tha calf of tho leo.
between this and the boot tops are seen the
much-talked-of trousers, which, in reality,
are nothing more nor less-except that they
are made of dark cloth like the Jacket and
skirt-than the pantalettes which were uni
versally worn and shown few years ago,
and which are still worn but not shown now
adays. A c0lored silk tie about the neck
and large linen apron complete the accou-
trement The three women represented life's
stages-youth, maturity and old age. All
were robust, sturdy-in word magnificent
specimens of the female animal; and all
were endowed with compilations of the lily
married to the rose. The youngest was
girl Of IS, who, it was stated, had worked for
five pears at the pit brow. She was indeed a
picture. A few truant locks upon her fore
head proclaimed her to be perfect type of
the golden-haired blonde; large eyes of dark
est sapphire were modestly down-cast and
shaded by long, curling, lashes; the flag of
ruddy health waved over the rosy cheeks and
ruby lips, and altogether one would easily
imagine that a scholarly, town-worn young
minister like the one depicted in THAT Lass
o Lowrie'," could fall to loving this honest,
primitive type of healthy woman and want
her to wife despite their social unitness; !;
while on the other hand one could believe
that the deeply touched him-worshipping
but conscientious girl should cry, as did the
Lass: mot yet; let me educate myself first ;
let me be little more worthy Of you."